Saturday, November 29, 2008

How's your weekend going? It's the final weekend of November. Sigh, winter is really upon us...well, at least some of us anyway. If you live in a warm climate, how'd ya like to mail me some of that warm weather? :)

I also wanted to share some photos from our night before Thanksgiving. We have two Korean students staying with us over Thanksgiving break. They are here in the US attending school with our older son, Ben. So, on Wednesday morning I headed off to the grocery store for some last-minute Thanksgiving menu items, and a list of ingredients given to me by the boys. You see, they wanted to make us a special Korean dinner that evening. I enlisted the help of the Korean man at the sushi counter to help me find a couple of items that I couldn't locate on my own.

I arrived home and got to work making pies, breads and homemade applesauce for the next day's festivities. Then, around 4pm the boys were given the go ahead, and began preparing dinner. We were not to help in any way; so we snuggled in the living room and boo-hooed over a recorded episode of Extreme Home Makeover (love that show!). When dinner was ready, we were shocked to see that they had made like SIX different dishes! ...and OH MY GOSH, everything was truly fabulous!!! Those boys could teach us a thing or two about how to finely chop vegetables ...wowzers, did they do an amazing job!

This first picture is Shin-Ho, who is really like a son to us. He has come to stay with us on every school break for the last couple of years. He only goes home to Korea in the summer; so we get to enjoy being his family away from home. He is such a sweet kid, and everyone in our family adores him. He will be graduating from high school this year along with our Ben. Where on earth does the time go???

The next picture is Dae Ho, who is a sophomore this year, and a first-time visitor to our home. This is only his second year in the states. He is very shy, but seems to be really enjoying his stay with our crazy family. We've certainly enjoyed having him. Our 11-year old, Nick, is in this botton photo as well, watching the boys prepare our dinner. :)

You can see a couple of their culinary delights in the photos...such yummy, yummy food. I will have to get them to write down the names of the dishes. Jim and I felt like we had just eaten at a fabulous Korean restaurant afterwards. I think it needs to become a night-before Thanksgiving tradition! :)

Finally, don't forget that the Flourishes Design Team is offering up some fabulous
Just Rite blog candy this week. Click on the links below and get your
name in the drawings! Then check the Flourishes
Newsletter HERE to check the list of winners on Sunday, November 30th. MY BLOG CANDY ENDS TODAY AT NOON EST!!!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? We sure did! It's always nice to gather round the table, and reflect on all that we have to be thankful for. We are sooooo blessed! :)

Today's sample is in honor of Black Friday...well, my thoughts on it anyway. Are you heading out this weekend to brave the stores with the rest of the world??? I can tell you that I will NOT be...unless the teenagers staying with us for Thanksgiving break can manage to talk me into it...but I'd seriously rather have teeth pulled! I love to shop from the comfort of my home with a nice cup of coffee, a piece of left-over pie, and my cozy jammies...and no one pushing OR shoving OR stealing my parking space OR screaming at their kids OR getting mad at me for just BEING there in their way while they're trying to buy some happy HO HO HO holiday presents for their happy HO HO HO family, just so we can all go home and celebrate BROKE Saturday....yeah, I think I'll pass. The truth is, I've been trying to convince my family for YEARS to forego Christmas presents and go work in a soup kitchen or go on a trip instead. So far no one's biting. Actually, we have worked in a soup kitchen...but they sure don't want to replace Christmas with it. Well, you know what I have to say about that? ....baaa-HUMBUG!

If you love Black Friday, well all the more power to ya! Have a wonderful time out there...I'll be thinkin' of ya. haha

I get fairly frequent requests to show the insides of my cards, so here ya go:

See? They are just not all that exciting; but there you have it. :)

I am smitten with the Cozy Critters stamp set designed by Anna Wight of Whipper Snapper. I just wanna eat those cutie-pies right up!

Remember, the Flourishes Design Team is offering up some fabulous Just Rite blog candy this week. Click on the links below and get your name in the drawings! Then check the Flourishes
Newsletter HERE to check the list of winners on Sunday, November 30th.

I have been asked a few times to share the insides of my cards. So, here's the inside of the above card:

Usually, I just do a few layers, stamp a sentiment and call it a day. I think it's a nice surprise to open a card and see that the inside is decorated as well. Besides, most of my cards would fall over if I didn't add some weight to the back too! haha

Don't forget about the Just Rite blog candy going on all this week with the Flourishes designers. Here's the line-up:

I also wanted to say that I have been SO enjoying your posts sharing all that you are thankful for. You have all really touched my heart. We do have sooooo much to be thankful for, don't we? I am so very thankful for all of YOU, for my incredible family & friends, and above all else, for a great and wonderful God, who loves us more than we can even imagine. :)

I am going to take tomorrow off from posting, so I can spend every minute of the day enjoying my family. I wish all of my fellow Americans a VERY blessed Thanksgiving, and to all of you around the world I wish you a VERY blessed Thursday!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

How's your week going so far? Are you all ready for Thanksgiving? Can you believe it's in TWO days??? Nope, me neither!

Today's sample was made with some fabulous Just Rite stamps. I really love that sentiment...need to frame it and put it up on the wall. It's a great reminder to "stop and smell the roses", so to speak. :-)

Did you know you can purchase your Just Rite stamps at Flourishes? Here's the best part... Starting
December 1st, everything Just Rite in the Flourishes store will be 25%
off! All week long the Flourishes Design Team will be taking turns showing you some fun ways to use these products, and we will
be giving away some goodies of our own! Be sure to check the Flourishes
Newsletter HERE to check the list of winners on November 30th!

What you say? You want BLOG CANDY??? Well, can't get anything past YOU, can I? ;-)

Well, how about a chance to win the amazing stamp ensemble I used on today's card?

Check it out:

Pretty awesome, huh?! If you don't know anything about Just Rite stamps, you should know that all of those borders are interchangeable with the centers....and can even be used with other stamps. The sky's the limit!

So, leave me a comment on THIS post no later than Saturday, November 29th at noon (EST). I will draw a winner shortly thereafter. You know I hate to just have you leave a comment, so why don't you tell me what you're thankful for this Thanksgiving season. :)

Monday, November 24, 2008

How was your weekend? Mine was super! I didn't get as many of my Display Stamper projects done as I would have liked; but I did make a dent in it...and I'm happy with the projects I did get done! (That is half the battle!)

Isn't this love-struck elephant just the cutest thing? Well, I know just how she feels...cuz I feel that way about the stamps from Our Craft Lounge,which is a brand new company started by Cambria Turnbow and Joy Kennedy, who are not only uber-talented, but are the sweetest gals evah! They have the most adorable collection of stamps, and I just can't wait to see what they come out with next!

I used Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge for this. I just love this sweet, simple sketch!

I also wanted to tell you about something exciting going on over at Flourishes this week. As we kick off the holiday season, everything at Flourishes is Just Rite! We want to make it easy for you to add to your wish list or buy for that special stamping buddy in your life! So, starting December 1st, everything Just Rite in the Flourishes store will be 25% off. In order to build some excitement, the Flourishes Design Team will be showing you all the fun ways you can use these products and we will be giving away some goodies of our own! Be sure to check the Flourishes Newsletter HERE to check the winner’s list on November 30th!

Today, you'll want to check out Faith's and Susan's blogs, and get yourself signed up for their give-aways! Tomorrow is my turn, and I'll have some awesome blog candy for ya! There will be great give-aways all week; so stay tuned!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Today's sample is made with Crafty Secrets' adorable Snow Bunnies stamp set. These little bunnies are just so sweet, aren't they?! The snow was made by layering white liquid applique more than once, and heating in between both layers while it was still wet. I really like the lumpy, bumpy texture. You can get a smooth, puffy snow look by letting your liquid applique dry completely before heating it.

Hope your weekend is absolutely fabulous! I am going to try to get as many of my SU Display Stamper projects done as I possibly can. I really want to be done with them by Thanksgiving. I'm just over half-way there so far...only 14 projects to go! I think I can...I think I can....I think I can...

Friday, November 21, 2008

Aren't Fridays the best!? Can you believe there's only one more weekend until we are officially in the "holiday season"?! Yikes! Hold on, Nellie....I'm not ready yet!!!! Guess I should plan my Thanksgiving menu, huh?

Last night I had a few of the girls in my downline over for a shoebox swap, and it was sooo nice to just stamp and chat and laugh. That is my favorite kind of event. The cards were wonderful, and the company was even better!

Today's sample is my card from the shoebox swap. I kept it simple, so that it could be completed in a reasonable amount of time...nothing like having everyone backed up at your station, cuz your card takes too long...been there, done that! I used the Flores Suaves stamp set, which really IS a current SU set. It's just in the Spanish version of our catalog. It's such a pretty stamp set too!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Man, is it getting cold outside...ugh! My friend, Ann, and I try to walk every morning, and we were popsicles after our walk this morning! Time to add in the long underwear, me thinks! :)

Today's sample was made with Flourishes new Figs and Pomegranates stamp set. I used the sketch from this week's Sketch Challenge over on SCS...super easy layout. I love a sketch that does most of the work for you...just add a focal image and voila!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

I'm back with a real, live sample today! :) Hey, did I tell you that I won Gina K's Grand Prize from her Land Cruiser Party??? I got a whopping EIGHT awesome stamp sets! How cool is that?! This card was made with two of the sets I won, which are both also brand new releases this month. I think these fun carolers are so stinkin' cute, and I really love the font on the "Merry Christmas".

Yup, that's Joanne Basile, one of the latest members of Splitcoaststamper's Dirty Dozen design team. I was demonstrating at an event just 10 minutes from her house; so she stopped by during lunch to say hi. She's incredibly sweet...and she brought me a present too! Check it out on her blog here...and yes, it was filled with yummy chocolate chip cookies...mmmmm. :) If you haven't seen this month's Fan Club gallery on SCS, you really must check it out! My fellow Dirty Dozen designers have made some beaUtiful eye candy for y'all!